Wisconsin is recognized as one of the leaders in state-level welfare reform efforts. The state has received a great deal of attention from policymakers and the media for its efforts to create a work-based system of assistance for low-income families and the significant caseload declines brought about by its reforms. The reforms reflect a philosophy that families, not government, are responsible for providing for their needs. Income support, employment and training, child care, and even aspects of child welfare services were modified to promote independence and self-sufficiency. Wisconsin changed the administrative structures of these programs, including increasing the involvement of private agencies. And more than other states, Wisconsin ended the entitlement to cash assistance by establishing a system of diversion to connect clients to other sources of support and by linking receipt of cash benefits to an applicant’s degree of job readiness as well as income eligibility.